The Ultimate Unofficial Escape Velocity Guide Version 2.6 by Amar Kishan on 7/29/01 amar_kishan@hotmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i.) INTRODUCTION This is a Faq/Data List for Escape Velocity (MAC). If you have anything to add, just contact me at: amar_kishan@hotmail.com. I hope you enjoy the guide. If you wish to use this guide for any purposes (other than use for help), please email me first. This guide is not to be reproduced in anyway without my permission first. This guide is copyright 1999-2001 Amar Kishan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ii.) VERSION HISTORY Version 2.6 (7/29/01) - Fixed the Format Version 2.5 (1/08/01) - Fixed the Format - New Tips Version 2.0 (6/24/99) -New Tips (Thanks to Alex Goudz) -New Ship Information (Thanks to Alex Goudz) Version 1.5 -Added Key Version 1.0 -First Version -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iii.) ABBREVIATIONS Throughout this guide I will explain many things through abbreviations, which I have listed below. T: Trading O: Outfitting S: Shipyard SAF: Sparse Asteroid Field MAF: Moderate Asteroid Field DAF: Dense Asteroid Field LSI: Light Sensor Interference MSI: Moderate Sensor Interference HSI: Heavy Sensor Interference F: Food I: Industrial med: Medical L: Luxury Goods met: Metal E: Equipment Cr: Credits -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iv.) TABLE OF CONTENTS i.) Introduction ii.) Version History iii.) Abbreviations iv.) Table of Contents 1. Story 2. Legal Status 3. The Galaxy (with goods traded, services, governments, ports,and hazards) A.) Confederates B.) Rebellion C.) Independent D.) Pirates E.) Misc F.) Blank Systems 4. Outfitting 5. Ships 6. Money 7. Credits/Disclaimer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. STORY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: This is not a verbatim copy of the actual introduction Years ago, aliens threatened the empire that humans had formed, branching out from Earth. The humans allied into a powerful group called the Confederation and drove off the aliens. For years following the Great War, the Confederation drew off the resources of the fringe planets, and resorted to tyranny. The badly used fringe planets formed a rebellion to war against the confederation. You start off on the neutral planet of Levo, piloting a small shuttlecraft. You can be a confederate, a rebel, a pirate, or a trader. the choice is yours. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. LEGAL STATUS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The world of Escape Velocity consists of many systems, some with planets and stations, others without. In most systems, you have a legal status. You start off as clean everywhere, but the destiny will not allow that. To gain more respect at any planet, you can kill pirates. For respect in the Confederacy, you can butcher the rebels, and for respect in the Rebellion, you can kill the Confederates. If a system doesn't like you, it won't allow you to land. This is indicated by red on the map. Blue means you can land. To make the pirate planets angry, you must kill many pirates. To make Althea angry, help Cydonia. To make Cydonia angry, help Lethe. The only planet that will let you land no matter what your status is(?????) Levo. Sometimes, you can dominate a planet in a system, by demanding tribute. This summons forth the defense fleet, which can be weak and small (Levo), weak and large (Ruby), strong (Lethe), or strong and large (Earth). If you overthrow one planet in the system, that planet will pay you money every time you jump or land. If you capture all the planets in the system, you become overlord. If you don't capture all, then you are a usurper. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. THE GALAXY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The galaxy of Escape Velocity is a very large place. Below is a list of all the systems in the galaxy, with ports, services, navigational hazards, and goods traded all included. The numbers next to the government is the number of planets like that (16 Confed, 42 blank etc.) Note: Sometimes, a system has navigational hazards, like asteroids or sensor interference. These are noted in the planet list. Sensor interference can cause the radar display to be blacked out, and asteroids will sometimes come in the way of missiles or other projectiles, disrupting the attack. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A.) CONFEDERATION-16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The central government, the confederation, has 16 systems, mostly located at the center of the galaxy. Below is a list: Sirius: Sirius Station; T/O Trade: F/I/med/met/E Tau Ceti: Merlin, New Columbia; T Trade: I/met Sol: Earth, Luna, Mars, Stardock Alpha; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Centauri: Landfall; T/O/S Trade: F/I/L Pollux: New Japan; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/met Vega: Enyo Fuel Refinery; T Trade: F/I/L/met/E Regulus: New France; T/O/S Trade: F/med/L Capella: Capella; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Rigel: New Britain; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/E Barnard: New Sahara NGC-6564: Ruby; MAF; O Eridani: Tabletop; T Trade: I/L/E Procyon: Plateau; SAF; T Trade: F/L/met Antares: New Providence, Antares Station; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/met/E Matar: Hodgson's World; T Trade: F/E/L/met Polaris: Northstar; T/O Trade: F/I/med/L/met -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B.) THE REBELLION-25 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cygnus: Palomino; T Trade: F/I/met/E Spica: Spica; T/O Trade: F/med/met/E Turin: Turin V; T/O/S Trade: F/I/met/E Zaphod: Beeblebrox; T Trade: F/I/L Persephone: Rupert; T Trade: F/I/med/L/E Alkaid: Alkaidion; T/O/S Trade: F/I/L/met/E Clotho: Clotho Prime, Clotho II; T/S Trade: F/I/med/E Satori: Palshife; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/E Orion: Hunter; T Trade: F/L/E Atropos: Atropos; T/S Trade: F/I/L/met/E Guiron: Akio; T/O/S Trade: I/L/E Zigra: Lauralee; T Trade: F/med/E Osiris: Endor Tiber: Port Oread; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/met/E El Santo: Samson's Planet; T Trade: F/I/med/met/E Thanos: Syntex Refinery; T Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Agena: Murphy's World; T/O Trade: F/I/med Ursa: Ursa Minor Beta; T Trade: F/L/met/E Adhara: Adhara, Sentinel Station; T/O Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Scorpio: Scorpio; SAF; T Trade: I/met/E Sirgil: Sirgil III, Sirgil Starport; T/O/S Trade: F/I/L/met/E Virgo: Virgo; MSI; T Trade: F/med/L Topaz: Emerald; SAF, MSI; T/O Trade: F/met/E Nemesis: Darkstar; LSI; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Apollo: Armstrong; MAF; T/O/S Trade: L/met -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C.) INDEPENDENT-19 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Levo: Levo; SAF; T Trade: F/I/med/met/E Kathoon: Maxwell's Purchase; T Trade: F/I/L Yemuro: New Istanbul; T/S Trade: F/I/med/E Propus: New Scotland, New Ireland; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Darven: Blackthorne; MAF; T/O/S Trade: F/med/met/E Perseus: Pegasus; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/met/E Zaxted: Zaxted Starport; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Diphidia: Diphidia II; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/met/E Sauron: Sauron; T/O Trade: F/I/met/E Olympus: Zeus, Hera; T Trade: F/I/L/met Deneb: Deneb III; T/O/S Trade: F/L/E Pelagon: Opal; T/O Trade: F/I/L/E Jadzia: New Bavaria; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L Nexus: Nexus Outpost; LSI Arrakis: Dune; T Trade: F/I/med/met/E Gymkata: Hikeeba; T Trade: F/I/med/L/met/E Manos: Master's Planet Torgo: Torgo Prime; MSI; T Trade: med NGC-1776: Liberty Station; DAF -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D.) PIRATES-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NGC-0595: Evildrome; MAF, HSI; O/S NGC-1027: New Antigua; MAF; O/S NGC-1896: Privateer's Haven; DAF; O/S NGC-4812: Pirates Cove; SAF; O/S --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E.) MISC-2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cydonian Government: Aries: New Cydonia; T/O Trade: F/I/med/met Lethean Government Lethe: Lethe Prime; T/O/S Trade: F/I/med/L/met -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F.) BLANK SYSTEMS-42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NGC-5465; DAF NGC-9517 NGC-6458 NGC-1701 NGC-1023; MAF NGC-2468; MAF THX-1138 NGC-5638 NGC-8457 NGC-6484 NGC-1718; DAF NGC-1592 NGC-0551 NGC-1325 NGC-9758; DAF NGC-1091; DAF NGC-0630; DAF NGC-4561; DAF NGC-8113 NGC-0317; SAF NGC-0805 NGC-2143 NGC-6762; MAF NGC-5528 NGC-1357; HSI NGC-9486; HSI, MAF NGC-1249; MSI NGC-8724; MSI NGC-7665; MSI, SAF NGC-6489 Vulcan; SAF Zebetrious; DAF Tryvin: SAF Alcyon Castor; SAF Mentos; SAF Canopus; MAF Gamera; SAF Farazon: DAF Altari Risa Curzon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. OUTFITTING -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The galaxy of Escape Velocity is a dangerous place, so you're going to need weapons, armors, and all the extras you can get! For those RPG fans, outfitting is like buying weapons, armor, and relics. You have a certain number of tons that can be allocated to outfitting (this varies by ship). This capacity can be increased by certain extras as well. Listed below are most of the outfits in th game, their price, weight, and my commentary. Laser Cannon: 4,700 cr, 5 tons. This gun does average damage at an average range. Proton Cannon: 8,240 cr, 8 tons. This gun can impact from a longer range, but is still weak. Neutron Blaster: 30,00 cr, 35 tons. The strongest cannon, but has a very short range. Laser Turret: 20,000 cr, 20 tons. Shoots in the direction of the target. Proton Turret: 30,000 cr, 30 tons. Upgrade of the laser turret. Torpedo Launcher: 20,000 cr, 25 tons. Launches torpedos :) Torpedo: 1,940 cr, 1 ton. These homing torpedos can be launched by the thousands, thus killing the target quickly. They cannot be jammed. Missile Rack: 15,000 cr, 10 tons. One of my favorites, it launched missiles. Missile: 3,390 cr, 1 ton. This high impact projectile is a must have. It homes onto the enemy, and is much faster than a torpedo. Bomb Rack: 20,000 cr, 30 tons. Put it this way. Two launched bombs can kill a Rebel Destroyer. Downside? They are slow and hard to aim. Space Bomb: 15,000 cr, 2 tons. Read above. Rocket Launcher: 20,000 cr, 30 tons. Launches rockets. Heavy Rocket: 970 cr, 2 tons. These pack quite a punch, but are a little on the slow side. Javelin Pod: 20,000 cr, 5 tons. Launches javelin rockets. Javelin Rocket: 160 cr. Weak but fast. Flare Launcher: 32,900 cr, 1 ton. Launches flares..... Decoy Flare: 230 cr. Well, if you are a coward, get 'em. They distract missiles. Cargo Pod: 7,270 cr, 20 tons. I don't like this extra. Get it if and only if you are a trader or need large cargo for rush deliveries. Mass Expansion: 50,000 cr. This device takes off 15 cargo tons for 10 weapons tons. Don't get it unless you have a huge ship or are a pirate. Manta: 180,000 cr. Well, if you are far enough into the game to get this, then go ahead. They are pretty good fighters. Hawk: 250,000 cr. Pretty good fighters. Lightning: 1 million cr. Better than Hawks. Hawk Fighter Bay: 1 million cr, 50 tons. This allows you to launch Hawks. Mass Driver: 80,000 cr, 40 tons. This is a very, very good weapon. The range is the problem, but you can still waste a ship like a Confederate frigate in less than a minute. Armaplast: 29,100 cr, 5 tons. A must have, no matter what ship. Durasteel: 90,000 cr, 20 tons. If you can afford/have enough space, consider it. (You do need guns) Tritanium: 1 million cr, 40 tons. If you can afford and hold it, consider it, as said above for Durasteel. Thrust Enhancer: 100,000 cr. This increases acceleration. If you can afford it, get it. (with rapiers and above) Engine Upgrade: 150,000 cr. This adds 150 Au/h to your speed. Good extra. RCS Upgrade: 180,000 cr. This increase turns by 30รป/sec. Get it if you have a large ship (bulk freighter, frigate, cruiser) External Fuel Tank: 1,450 cr, 5 tons. This adds one jump to your limit. Get one. Shield Capacitator: 90,000 cr, 3 tons. This boosts your shield by 15 terrawatts. you can have up to four, later on, have no less! Shield Booster: 125,000 cr, 2 tons. This lets the shields regenerate quicker. Get it for later ships. Escape Pod: 4,700 cr, 1 ton. Get this if you are playing Strict Play. Auto-Eject: 2,910 cr. Get this only if you are playing Strict Play. Density Scanner: 8,000 cr. This shows large ships as big dots, and small ships as dots. Get it. IFF Decoder: 11,000 cr. This color codes your display (red-enemy, blue-friend, green-escort, grey-disabled). A good buy. Regional Map: 2420 cr. Get this at the fringe planets, as the outer rims can be priate infested. It shows info for systems up to two jumps away. Fake ID: 2.5 million cr. If you are a very, very terrible person in the Confederacy, and have a lot of money, get it to make you a good person in Confderate places. Missile Jammer: 30,000 cr. Jams missiles (only). Get it! Afterburner: 9,400 cr, 5 tons. I don't know if you should get it.... Ramscoop: 24,200 cr, 5 tons. Get this, you don't have to land to refuel!!! Auto-Refueller: 4,700 cr. Get this immediately. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. SHIPS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The galaxy of Escape Velocity is populated by pilots, who need good ships. Below is a list of all non-confederate ships in the game, with complete info: price, speed, etc. This chart will help you save up for the right ship. Note: Gun and Turret are the total number of that item that the ship can hold. The weapons list that may appear after the data of the ship is the list of weaponry that comes with the ship. 1.) Shuttlecraft: 9,400 cr Speed: 275 Acceleration : Good Turn: Good Shields: 18 Armor: 10 Guns: 3 Turret: 0 Space: 15 tons Cargo: 20 tons Fuel: 4 jumps Length: 8 m Mass: 30 tons Crew: 1 No standard weapons 2.) Light Freighter: 263,000 cr Speed: 125 Acceleration : Poor Turn: Poor Shields: 15 Armor: 30 Guns: 0 Turret: 1 Space: 50 tons Cargo: 150 tons Fuel: 3 jumps Length: 50 m Mass: 200 tons Crew: 19 1 laser turret 3.) Courier: 169,000 cr Speed: 250 Acceleration : Average Turn: Good Shields: 15 Armor: 25 Guns: 2 Turret: 1 Space: 30 tons Cargo: 50 tons Fuel: 8 jumps Length: 15 m Mass: 75 tons Crew: 10 1 laser turret 4.) Argosy: 750,000 cr Speed: 200 Acceleration : Poor Turn: Average Shields: 35 Armor: 40 Guns: 3 Turret: 2 Space: 60 tons Cargo: 130 tons Fuel: 4 jumps Length: 52 m Mass: 215 tons Crew: 28 2 laser turrets 5.) Rapier: 1.2 million cr Speed: 300 Acceleration : Good Turn: Good Shields: 35 Armor: 15 Guns: 4 Turret: 1 Space: 20 tons Cargo: 15 tons Fuel: 4 jumps Length: 12 m Mass: 15 tons Crew: 2 4 proton bolt cannons, 1 torpedo launcher & 6 torpedoes, 1 rocket launcher & 6 heavy rockets, rear laser turret 6.) Lightning: 1 million cr Speed: 350 Acceleration : Very Good Turn: Very Good Shields: 25 Armor: 5 Guns: 5 Turret: 1 Space: 15 tons Cargo: 5 tons Fuel: 5 jumps Length: 10 m Mass: 12 tons Crew: 1 4 laser cannons, 2 missile racks & 4 missiles, 1 rocket launcher & 2 heavy rockets, 1 javelin pod & 40 javelin rockets 7.) Defender: 97,000 cr Speed: 500 Acceleration : Excellent Turn: Excellent Shields: 10 Armor: 0 Guns: 3 Turret: 0 Space: 5 tons Cargo: 1 tons Fuel: 3 jumps Length: 8 m Mass: 9 tons Crew: 1 8.) Scoutship: 75,200 cr Speed: 275 Acceleration : Average Turn: Good Shields: 30 Armor: 5 Guns: 4 Turret: 0 Space: 35 tons Cargo: 40 tons Fuel: 9 jumps Length: 18 m Mass: 50 tons Crew: 2 2 lasers 9.) Clipper: 400,000 cr Speed: 300 Acceleration : Average Turn: Average Shields: 30 Armor: 20 Guns: 4 Turret: 1 Space: 25 tons Cargo: 35 tons Fuel: 4 jumps Length: 18 m Mass: 85 tons Crew: 6 3 proton bolt cannons, 1 javelin pod & 25 javelin rockets 10.) Corvette: 2.5 million cr Speed: 300 Acceleration : Good Turn: Average Shields: 70 Armor: 30 Guns: 5 Turret: 2 Space: 50 tons Cargo: 60 tons Fuel: 4 jumps Length: 30 m Mass: 135 tons Crew: 37 2 missile racks & 8 missiles, 2 laser turrets, 1 rocket launcher & 4 heavy rockets, 1 javelin pod & 60 javelin rockets 11.) Kestrel: 10.00 million cr Speed: 225 Acceleration : Average Turn: Average Shields: 130 Armor: 50 Guns: 6 Turret: 3 Space: 120 tons Cargo: 80 tons Fuel: 5 jumps Length: 80 m Mass: 230 tons Crew: 96 1 torpedo launcher & 4 torpedoes, 2 missile racks & 10 missiles, 2 proton turrets, 2 lightnings 12.) Manta: 180,000 cr Speed: 425 Acceleration : Very Good Turn: Excellent Shields: 20 Armor: 0 Guns: 4 Turret: 0 Space: 5 tons Cargo: 3 tons Fuel: 2 jumps Length: 8 m Mass: 9 tons Crew: 1 1 missile rack & 2 missiles, 3 swivel lasers 13.) Rebel Destroyer: 2.8 million cr Speed: 300 Acceleration : Very Good Turn: Average Shields: 200 Armor: 50 Guns: 5 Turret: 4 Space: 80 tons Cargo: 30 tons Fuel: 4 jumps Length: 52 m Mass: 240 tons Crew: 115 2 torpedo launchers & 12 torpedoes, 2 missile racks & 10 missiles, 2 proton turrets, 1 rocket launcher & 6 heavy rockets 14.) Rebel Cruiser: 14 million credits Speed: 200 Acceleration : Average Turn: Poor Shields: 500 Armor: 80 Guns: 7 Turret: 4 Space: 120 tons Cargo: 60 tons Fuel: 5 jumps Length: 280 m Mass: 850 tons Crew: 527 2 missile racks & 20 missiles, 3 proton turrets, 4 mantas, 1 rocket launcher & 6 heavy rockets 15.) Confed Patrol Ship speed: excelent accel: good turn: 120/sec shield: 20u armor: - guns: 4(max) turrets: - space: 5t cargo: 5t fuel: 2jumps crew: 1 cost: 700,000cr 3 proton cannons 1 missle rack+2 missles 16.) Confed Gunboat: speed: very good accel: good turn: 90/sec shields: 20u armor: 5u guns: 3(max) turrets: - space: 5 cargo: 5 fuel: 3jumps crew: 2 cost: 900,000cr 2 laser cannons 1 missle rack+4 missles 1 rocket launcher+2 rockets 17.) Confed Frigate speed: average accel: good turn: 60/sec shields: 250u armor: 50u guns: 6(max) turrets: 3(max) space: 60t cargo: 50t fuel: 3jumps crew: 217 cost: 5M 2 torpedo launchers+6 torpedos 2 missle racks+10 missles 2 proton turrets 1 rocket launcher+4 rockets 18.) Confederate Heavy Cruiser speed: poor accel: very poor turn: 30/sec shield: 800u armor: 100u space: 100T! cargo: 75t guns: 8 max turret: 4 max crew: 1,029 cost: 20M [ouch] 4 neutron blasters 2 torpedo launchers+14 torpedoes 2 proton turrets 1 patrol ship bay+4 patrol ships 19.) Alien Fighter: speed: excellent accel: excellent turn: 180/sec sield: 500u armor: - guns: 8(max) turrets: - space: 10 cargo: 10 fuel: 10 crew: 8 1 fussion beam 1 drone launcher+2 seeker drones 20.) Alien Battle Cruiser: speed: very good accel: very good turn: 60/sec shield: 1500u!!! armor: - guns: 12!(max) turrets: 4(max) space: 60t cargo: 50t fuel: 20jumps! crew: 650 1 heavy fussion beam 4 drone launchers+80 seeker drones 1 alien fighter bay+3 alien fighters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MONEY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The easisest way to make money in Escape Velocity is to complete missions. Their are a few basic types of missions. They are listed below. Cargo Delivery/Ferry Passengers: 10,000 cr. Nothing special. Rush Delivery: 25,000 cr. Time limit Deliver Emergency Medical Supplies: 50,000 cr. Three week time limit Ferrying Pirates: 75,000 cr. Angers the Confederation. Assassination (of Confed Senator): 100,000 cr (?). Angers the Confederation Alien Mission (Rebel version): 10 million cr. Gives acces to Rebel Destroyer and Cruiser/ Tractor beam. Another way to make credits is by trading. Purchasing goods at a planet where they cost low prices, and shipping them somewhere where they are in demand can net you a lot of money. This is the kind of life where a bulk or light freighter is a good idea. Yet another way to make money is by being your everyday pirate. To do this without angering anyone, makesure no Confeds or militia are around, then attack other ships. Disable them, and then board them. Steal their money, leave, and don't kill the ship. It won't be recorded in the legal file. The final way to make money is by dominating planets, as explained in the Legal Status section. You have to have a high combat rating for this to work, escpecially in the new versions. To get a high combat rating, kill people, or fire the finishing shot. Example? Allright. Say you are a puny clipper, and witness a fight between a rebel destroyer and a confederate frigate. Choose one, and join the attack. If you fire the shot that kills it, you will gain a lot of combat ratings. However, they get harder to gain as you go into the higher levels. After killing the aliens in the end of the game, you should be around Ultimate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIPS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.) When playing with any ship that has turrets, put the game speed on 50% and turn caps off when ever engaging a target. 2.) If you get a confed cruiser, immideatly get all the upgrades there are. 3.) When dominating the planets with rebels, get the most powerful escorts you can, and deploy all your fighters, and then demand tribute from the planet. After you turn your cloaking on, the defense will not attack you or your escorts/fighters; they will be instantly killed by them. 4.) When gambling hold spacebar to win the first three rounds. 5.) To get the forklift, command click the title andhold control+shift+command+apple+F until you hear the fotklift song, and then the loaded pilot will recieve the forklift. 6.) After you kill the alien battle cruiser, kill all the fighters to get a very high rank on all the independant planets. 7.) To get the pirate planets to like you, kill the independant ships. The planet will not ask for a bribe, and the pirate ships will not attack you. 8.) Legal Rankings reset. So, if you become SO hated, SO despised that you deserve a ranking worse than even the scourge of the galaxy, you'll become a Pillar of Society (might not work in newer versions). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS/DISCLAIMER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Goudz: Tips, ship information. Ambrosia: Making the game This guide is not affiliated with Ambrosia or anyone else. It is an independent, unofficial guide. Escape Velocity is copyright Ambrosia Software. ****This guide is copyright 1999-2001 Amar Kishan****